Leave it to Orange County to start playing well when they needed it the most.

With just three games remaining in their season they are in position to make the playoffs on their own terms. For one they hold a game in hand on the rest of their direct competition. Likewise that game in hand will be settled on a Wednesday night against last place El Paso.

However El Paso has the perfect opportunity to really ruin Orange County’s season and, as of late, they have been playing at a bit higher quality than their record suggests. Orange County cannot clinch a playoff spot yet, but if they were to defeat El Paso, then they would get a four point cushion above the playoff line and earn the chance to clinch playoffs on Saturday at home.

But before they can worry about the home games, they will have to take care of business in their last road game of the year.

THE OPPONENT - EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC

The less that is said about this season for El Paso, the better. While they are ending the year strong, it has been a dismal year for the West Texas Club. This will be the first time that El Paso is going to miss the postseason in club history. When Orange County faced El Paso at home back in August, the story for El Paso remained largely the same; the defense is bang average while the offense is lacking.

But El Paso have been playing the role of spoiler for a number of playoff hopefuls the last couple of weeks in both the Eastern and Western conference.They have been able to steal much needed points from Colorado Springs, North Carolina, San Antonio and put a dagger into FC Tulsa with a 1-0 win.

But the biggest surprise may be that they have been able to score in each of those four games. The insanity of the USL was in full action their last time out when El Paso scored twice after the 80th minute to tough out a draw against San Antonio.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jahmali Waite has been the main goalkeeper for El Paso. Of their 31 games, he has made an appearance in 24 of them. And in order to beat El Paso, Orange County will need to put at least two goal past him.

On the orange side of things, Orange County need all hands on deck. However, Seth Casiple is one of the main cogs in the midfield, as well as an unsung leader of the club. The 31-year-old has made 17 appearances and has scored once. He’s also only been cautioned just once, so the availability of the veteran player will be a big part of the OC midfield from Wednesday night.

THE MATCH UP

Orange County has historically had the number of a few teams across the USL, with Las Vegas and Pittsburgh being two teams that have struggled greatly against Orange County. But if there is any team in the USL that Orange County cannot consistently get points against: it’s El Paso. These two teams have met nine times in the regular season and Orange County has only won once in those nine.

The last time that Orange County beat El Paso came all the way back in 2019. Orange County has never even earned a single point at Southwest University Park. This year has seen a few trends already bucked, but Orange County will have to buck one more to get to where they want to be.

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - @ El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship)
When - October 16th, 6:00 PM PST
Where - Southwest University Park (El Paso, TX)
OCSC Form - WDWDW
ELP Form - DWWDL
All-Time Matchup - 2-4-4 (10 Matchups)
TV - CBS Sports Golazo